The Stars Shine as Beacons in the Darkness
by obimax
Summary: Patrocklia. A normal nine year old girl. Until she comes to Belsavis for the third time to meet her father... This is my first fanfiction, and I promise the writing gets better later in the story. Please Read and Review! Changed Trooper to Sith I. and Hurt/Comfort to Friendship.
1. Prologue

_PROLOGUE_

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_Patrocklia, a 9 year old human girl, ran to her father's arms. She didn't see her father often, as he was an inmate in the Maximum Security Section on Belsavis. Her father, Patrocklos, was a smuggler who got caught shipping a large load of Carsunum, a dangerous spice that is addictive and when taken more than once or twice, could kill. That was 20 years ago. 10 years in, a woman by the name of Sandraas was sent in to the same block as Patrocklos. However, Sandraas was a guard. Patrocklos was a talker, and Patrocklos and Sandraas fell in love. They married secretly in the kitchen of the jail. Patrocklos finally talked Sandraas into it and they had a child together. Sandraas, after having the child, suddenly realized that she had broken a huge tenant of the Jedi Code, and so she left Patrocklos. But so that Patrocklia could see both parents, Patrocklos and Sandraas decided that Sandraas would take and raise Patrocklia on Corellia, but she would be able to bring Patrocklia back to Belsavis intervally to see her father. They decided on once every 3 years. When she was 3, she was confused who Patrocklos was, and they only stayed a short while. When she was 6, she understood better and her mother explained that this was her father. When she was 9, she discovered her unique affinity to the Force. She had a sense of longing to be with her father, because she loved him very much and only got to see him once every three years. When she was nine, her life was about to change._


	2. Chapter 1: A Dark Turn

**Chapter 1: A Dark Turn**

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Patrocklia and Sandraas were at the Maximum Security Section on Belsavis so Patrocklia could see her father, as she was 9 years old now. Patrocklia ran over to her mother, saying, "Mommy! How long until we see Daddy? How long!?"

Sandraas leaned down so she was eye level to her. She said, "Patrocklia, honey, there's something I need to tell you. This will be the last time visiting your father". She started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why, Mommy? I thought we were coming again when I was twelve", Patrocklia replied to her mother.

"Patrocklia, look at me".

"Yes, Mommy?"

Sandraas struggled to maintain eye contact, and when she finally stopped crying, she said coolly, "He's being executed. Do you know what executed means?"

"No..."

Sandraas grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and told her the story of her father and how he was going to be killed because he had attacked another inmate with a blaster he had gotten by assaulting a guard. He had killed the guard, and severely injured the inmate. At hearing this, something clicked inside Patrocklia. Patrocklia started crying loudly, and as she was crying, she turned that grief into power and felt a surge of strength. She used this strength, and started Force choking the guards. "DON'T! KILL! MY! DADDY!" She killed the guards and ran inside to her father.

Patrocklos was surprised at her strength, and instantly recognized it for what it was. The Force. He had some dealings with the Jedi and the Sith, so he knew what it was and what powers Patrocklia could gain. He knew someone that could train her... "Patrocklia! Please! Get me out of these chains, and I'll take you somewhere safe!" He didn't know how she was Force Sensitive, after all, he wasn't Sensitive, and neither was his wi-

Sandraas force pushed Patrocklos against the wall and unsheathed her blue lightsaber. Sandraas was a Jedi Guardian, keeper of peace, and she would not let this man, no matter how much she loved him, go free. She dove at Patrocklos, killing him instantly. Then she turned around, barely deflecting a shot from a blaster that Patrocklia had grabbed. Her daughter had pulled it from a guard's holster, and started firing it repeatedly. She didn't want to kill her daughter, so she threw her lightsaber just right so it would hit the blaster to stop the barrage. She knew it might cut her hand off, but she didn't expect it would land IN her hand.

Patrocklia had a hold of the lightsaber with the Force, and she Force Pushed Sandraas onto the ground. As the nine-year old towered above her Jedi mother, slightly crying and controlled by grief and anger, she whispered the last words Sandraas would ever hear in her life. "Goodbye, worthless scum", and plunged the lightsaber into her mother's heart.

**A/N: This is my first Fanfiction, so if you all could write a review with some HELPFUL criticism, that would be wonderful and that way I could improve my writing. Thanks! -Obimax**


	3. Chapter 2: Pa'la

**Chapter 2: Pa'la**

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Patrocklia ran. She ran as fast and as hard as she could. She ran through High Security, through Minimum Security, and she ran to the Republic Base where she arrived. As she was running towards the shuttle, a sight caught her eye. There was a small blue Twi'lek, about the same age as her, being yelled at by a vendor for begging. There was just something about the Twi'lek that made Patrocklia want to help her. She ran over to the vendor, gave him some money she got from her mother's carcass, and pulled the Twi'lek away.

As Patrocklia led the girl away, she yelled at Patrocklia. "Hey, you jerk! I was just about to steal some muja fruit! Thanks a lot for interrupting me!"

Patrocklia glared at her, because Patrocklia was smart enough to survey the entire area, and she saw 3 men with blaster rifles getting ready to shoot. "If I hadn't stepped in there, you would've been bantha meat. Now come on, let's get out of here quick."

"What? Why would I follow you?"

Patrocklia pulled a cylindrical object from her pocket and ignited it, making a blue blade, and promptly slashing a large rock in half. "I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU AND THEREFORE YOU MUST HEED MY WORD!"

The other girl started giggling. "Heehee, you're funny. My name's Pa'la. Pa'la Zebb. What's yours?"

"YOU DARE ASK MY NAME?! I AM THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE GALAXY! I CAN WIELD A LIGHTSABER!

Pa'la started giggling even louder, snatching the lightsaber from Patrocklia and twirling it and using the Force to do tricks with it. "You're not the only one who can do those fancy tricks", showing off even more by throwing the lightsaber around the shuttle and letting it sail back into her hand.

Patrocklia was impressed, if not stunned. She didn't know anyone other than her mother, and now herself, could wield a lightsaber and use the Force. She eventually decided that having Pa'la as a "friend" could help both of them. "My name's Patrocklia. A pleasure to meet you, Pa'la. I hope we can be the best of friends."

The Twi'lek beamed, and led Patrocklia to her hideout in the Prisoner Recreation Area. It was a small hole in the ground that led to a large cavern with a makeshift bed and a blaster on the lump of dirt that was serving as a table next to the bed. Pa'la had weaved lots of grass to make a tight blanket that kept her warm in the Winter Months, and there were many oddities all around that Pa'la kept just in case they would be useful. Some of these oddities were berries she had gathered, others were things given to her by pilots, and the rest she had collected from the prisoners. All-in-all, it was a neat mess.

"Well, this is my home sweet home. I hope you like it. I can make a bed for you if you want, or you can sleep on my pile of fuzz from a Varactyl toy", Pa'la shot out.

"I think the fuzz is fine, and yes, it's quite cozy... I'm... go...gonna get some sleep." Patrocklia was fast asleep in the next 10 seconds. Pa'la however, couldn't quite get to sleep just yet.

"Hmmm... something's wrong with her, I'll question her in the morning when we go to my favorite place, The Spaceport!", she thought to herself as she drifted off.

The next morning, Patrocklia and Pa'la walked to the spaceport. Pa'la had forgotten about her promise to talk to Patrocklia she made to herself last night, so they occupied the walk there with idle chatter. When they finally reached the spaceport, the duo snuck in past the security guard. "All right, now we're gonna get off this wasteland and go somewhere tropical. Where should we go, Patrocklia?" Pa'la asked, her pockets, shirt, pants, and shoes stuffed with as many of her oddities as she could fit. It was a miracle the guard didn't hear the slight jingling noise she made when she walked.

"Hmm... well, I, kinda don't know any other planets besides Belsavis and Corellia. How many planets do you know?" Patrocklia replied slowly.

"I know exactly 47 planets, and I've been on 45 of them! The only 2 I haven't been on are Hoth and Naboo, so let's try Naboo, since Hoth is a snowy wasteland." Pa'la said, quite proud of herself.

"WOW! That's amazing! You've been on 45 planets! Awesome! Well, let's go to Naboo then!" Patrocklia said amazed. Then, not quite as amazed, "How in the galaxy are we gonna get there?"

Pa'la smirked, and then led Patrocklia to a private dock. "The big board at the entrance said that this ship was heading to Naboo. Now, come along and get on the ship!"

Patrocklia stopped, confused. "You mean we're just going to hop on the ship, without paying, and hide until we get there? Isn't that illegal?"

"Only if you get caught! Now come on, there isn't much time before the owner comes back!"

Pa'la led Patrocklia to the ship and once they were safely in a cargo hold, they got ready for a long voyage. Luckily, some of Pa'la's oddities were water and some food packets so they would survive. "Now we just have to wait until the pilot gets back, and then we're off to Naboo! I think..." She added the last part quiet, and it was barely audible.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU THINK?! THIS ISN'T A SHIP TO NABOO?!"

"Well, I can't read all that well, so either it said Naboo or it said Tatooine. One of the two."

Patrocklia was fuming now, she did NOT want to go to Tatooine. In the short time she was in the spaceport, she picked up that Tatooine was a barren desert, void of life and everything nice and happy. "You didn't bother mentioning that to me BEFORE we got on this stinking ship? Come on, we still have a chance to get off and che-" She was stopped abruptly as the ship started up it's engines. The two girls heard a voice over the intercom. "Okay, is the crew all ready to go to Tatooine to make this shipment?" And audible roar of "YEAH!" was heard by Patrocklia and Pa'la. "All right, let's go!" said the intercom voice again.

Patrocklia slowly turned towards Pa'la. "UGH! Well, when we get to Tatooine, I'LL choose a ship and we'll go on it to Naboo, okay?"

"Okay..." Pa'la whimpered, sadly.

As they waited, they both slowly drifted into sleep. Pa'la's sleep was nice, with a dream of flowers and happiness and nice-smelling aunts, while Patrocklia's dream was much, MUCH, worse.

_"Why did you kill me? I was a loving mother, and gave you everything you ever wanted?" The dream Sandraas questioned. "Why did you kill me, Patrocklia? I loved you!"_

_"I... I'm sorry! I didn't want to! Something overcame me! Please forgive me Mommy!"_

_"Oh, be quiet. You're not actually sorry. You're coming up with excuses for killing the only person who actually loved you. Your father just wanted you as a tool to start up his business again. I wanted you to grow up to be a fine young lady. Why couldn't you be like Miss Silver? She always was perfect. She was a fine example, only a couple years older than you. You should've been like her, but no, you just had to come along and kill your dear mother."_

_"PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I didn't mean it! I swear! I'm so... so... sorry..."_

_The dream Sandraas' face contorted and twisted, until she was a horrific monster, and she devoured Patrocklia, sending her into dreams of torture and agony, down a deep, dark, deathly hole._

**A/N: Well, I tried to make this one longer than my other ones, and hopefully better written. I also edited my last 2 chapters, and they finally changed their names from Chapter 1 and 2 to Prologue and Chapter 1 like I wanted them to. So, if you haven't already, you should re-read the previous two chapters to make everything fit in nice and snug. Also, I sometimes get on Patrocklia on Star Wars the Old Republic on the Begeren Colony server. She's level 20ish and she just started Balmorra. She is, of course, a Marauder and I am basing this story off of her. Anyways, thanks for reading!**

**Please review! =D**


	4. Chapter 3: Mos Ila

**Chapter 3: Mos Ila**

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Patrocklia woke up with a start. She couldn't hear the loud engines, which meant... they landed! Patrocklia shook Pa'la, eager to get off and head for Naboo. When Pa'la finally dragged herself up, the two young girls waited until the cargo hold opened. When it did, they darted past a burly man and ran out into the spaceport. They looked over their shoulders. The man was pushing a button... It looked kind of red... Suddenly, alarms started wailing. Patrocklia and Pa'la ran through the spaceport, passing some droids and high-ranking officials.

When they finally slowed down, they were on the outskirts of town. Patrocklia looked up at the wooden sign. "Mos Ila. Well, Pa'la, we had the luck to land on the shadiest part of Tatooine, not including Outlaw's Den."

"Sorrrrrry! It's not entirely my fault! When the alarms are done and everything calms down, we'll head back to the spaceport and you can choose a ship. Okay?"

"Fine."

The Human and Twi'lek started walking inwards to the city. As they strolled along, Pa'la suddenly asked the question she had been holding in ever since she met Patrocklia.

"Howdidyoumeetmeandwhydidyousavemewherewereyourpar entshowmanytoesdoyouhavewheredidyoulivebefore?!" She took a deep breath afterwards, and waited for a response.

"Well, ummm... I was just walking, I thought you needed help, I'd rather not talk about it, 10 of course, Corellia." Patrocklia tried her best to remember all the questions, and did a pretty good job. "What about you? Where are you from, Pa'la?"

Pa'la sighed. "If you really want to know, then take a seat. This might be a while."

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait and short chapter. I'm in the process of actually playing on Patrocklia, as well as my Trooper, who will be in this story as well, as one of the main antagonists. Anyways, Chapter 4 will be a LOT longer and will be Pa'la's backstory. Hint hint: she actually CAN read. Anyways, see you guys later. Tomorrow Chapter 4 SHOULD be up, either then or Monday or Tuesday, as I'm leaving to go camping on Thursday. Seeya**

**-obimax**


	5. Chapter 4: Pa'la's Story Part 1

**Chapter 4: Pa'la's Story**

**Part 1**

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Mos Ila, Tatooine; 3 years ago

7 year old Pa'la walked through her house's door. She was small for her age, and her lekku were just starting to grow out. She had a red dress with white floral designs on it and she wore her favorite pair of red sandals. She walked over to her father, and smiled at him. He didn't smile back. Pa'la was used to this. Her father was an Imperial Trooper, stationed at Outpost Varath. Her mother used to be one too, before she was killed by a Jedi, with the help of a Tharan Cedrax. Her father, however, was much tougher. No one dared to go near him, because of his face. It was not the face of a father, nor was it the face of happiness. It was a

there's-nothing-else-in-this-life-so-might-as-well -bring-everyone-else-down-with-me face.

Pa'la's smile turned meek, and she turned to go back to her room and play with her doll. Before Pa'la's mother died, she told her stories of the legendary Nok Drayen and his daughter, Risha. Risha had a friend, Ce'na. She was a blue Twi'lek like Pa'la, and so Pa'la's mother made a doll of Ce'na for Pa'la to play with. The Ce'na doll was her favorite toy, and whenever she was sad, she would play with the doll. She made Ce'na a blaster out of clay. She didn't know how she did it, but it was a perfect replica of the blaster Ce'na actually used. Her mother was very proud of her little daughter, well, at least before she was brutally murdered.

Little Pa'la went out of her room again after playing with Ce'na for about an hour. Her father was gone to Outpost Varath. She nibbled on some stale bread and drank a tablespoon of water. That was her meal for the day. She wandered out of her "house", if it could be called that, and went into the town. There was a wooden sign, freshly painted by herself, so travelers could be aware which town they were in. It said, "Mos Ila". She was proud of her writing. Her mother had taught her to read and write and do basic maths when Pa'la was little. As she went further into the town, she glanced at the passerby. One was a burly Cathar, clothed in Mercenary gear. He had a cyborg female at his side, and the two were conversing quietly. The man had some money in his hands, so Pa'la, feeling brave, walked up to him and asked if she could have a few spare credits. The man stared at her, opened his mouth as to speak, when suddenly his female companion quickly said, "Sure, take it all. We got more than we need anyways." The Cathar silently handed her the money in his hands, and walked away with his cyborg friend.

Pa'la stared at the money. It was more than she got as a yearly allowance! A full 200 credits! She could buy food for 2 years with this stuff! The 7 year old ran off quickly, to find her only friend in this harsh town. Her friend's name was Gresh, and he was 8 years old. When Pa'la made it to his door, she knocked quietly. Gresh's mother opened the door. She was a kind woman, not unlike Pa'la's own mother. In fact, she had taken responsibility for partly raising Pa'la. Gresh came bounding across from the other side of the roomy home. Gresh's parents had a wealthy mining company, and therefore had a decent, 800-square foot house with two floors. To Pa'la, it was a mansion. They had all sorts of expensive things in here.

"Pa'la? Pa'la? Ohhhh Paaaaaaa'laaaaaa..." Gresh kept waiting for her, and suddenly Pa'la snapped back into reality. Every time she looked inside the house, shame overcame her. Gresh didn't know she was a poor lowly girl, who barely had a wooden shack to call home. She even kept all these worthless items lying around. Gresh laughed when Pa'la drifted off again.

"Pa'la! Hey, wanna go play some tricks on the "tourists"?" Gresh asked. Everyone knew that the "tourists" that came by every so often were actually Imperial Agents, sent here to help reclaim territory in the Outer Rim. Gresh and Pa'la's favorite pastime was to prank the snobby agents with their sharp accents and either blaster or sniper rifles on their backs.

"Sure, lemme get my tools!" Pa'la ran back to her hut and grabbed two things. An inexpensive laser pointer and a toy Krayt Dragon that makes sounds. All the usual townspeople knew that she had that, so they generally weren't scared when they heard the sounds. But the Agents that came periodically to Mos Ila didn't know that. The laser pointer she used to pretend that the Agents were getting sniped. It was quite fun to watch the Agents duck into cover, aim their gun all around, and after they realize that the danger had passed, looking behind their shoulder again and again, just to make sure.

When Pa'la got her two tools, she sprinted back to Gresh's house. His tools consisted of some wire and a toy blaster rifle. Her laser pointer was much more fun when Gresh also shot his toy blaster rifle that sounded like a real one. It was sure going to be a fun day...

**A/N: **_Sorry I haven't updated in a while. There will be 2 or 3 stories about Pa'la's Childhood. There will also be flashbacks into Patrocklia's past, but that will come later. I'll start shifting the focus back over to Patrocklia starting next chapter. Please Review! Thanks for reading!_

_-Obimax_


	6. Chapter 5: Golgatha

**Chapter 5:** Golgatha

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Pa'la ended the first part of her story. She looked up at Patrocklia, hoping for some feedback. Patrocklia simply gazed into the sky. Pa'la shook Patrocklia. Nothing happened. Patrocklia could not get out of her trance. She started chanting odd words. "Ookamahiwalo. Ookamahiwalo. Ookamahiwalo. OOKAMAHIWALO. OOKAMAHIWALO. OOKAMAHIWALO! OOKAMAHIWALO!"

Pa'la backed up. Patrocklia's eyes started glowing blood-red. Her face turned gray and wrinkled. Her head suddenly snapped downwards and stared into Pa'la's purple eyes. "OOKA! MAHI! WALO!". Patrocklia suddenly had a crimson glow around her body. Everything near her got burnt to a crisp. The aura become wider, slowly expanding. Patrocklia began to float in the air. Onlookers started staring, wide-eyed. Pa'la looked at her friend, and tried to calm her down. She said encouraging words, but nothing worked. She then ran back with the rest of the crowd.

Patrocklia's deadly aura expanded even more. It had a 10 foot radius now. Nobody could get near her. Mos Ila was in panic. Imperial Troopers came and started shooting at Patrocklia. Nothing could get through her energy. 5 Sith Lords started hacking away with their lightsabers, but to no avail. Patrocklia's eyes grew brighter, and with a final push, her aura of death shooting outwards, incinerating all the Sith and the Troopers. She then fell to the ground, landing hard.

Pa'la ran towards her friend, trying to get her to wake up. As she was over Patrocklia, crying from the events that just happened, she felt something... menacing. She looked up. There was a male Sith Pureblood standing over here. He looked straight at her, and just his gaze made Pa'la slowly back away from Patrocklia. The Pureblood waved his hands, using the Force and Patrocklia suddenly woke up with a gasp. "Wha-what happened? Who is he? Pa'la? Where are you? I can't see! All I remember is the red. There was just red... And... yes, just red. Nothing else...Pa'la? Where did you go?"

The Sith standing over her Force Lifted her up off the ground. "I am Golgatha. I am a descendant of Lord Kallig and I excel in Force Lightning. Many know me as Darth Nox." He had a deep voice, sounding deeper than a chasm. "You were quite exceptional. You are a special case. I shall take you under my care. Do you have any things? If so, pack them up. We leave in 30 minutes."

Patrocklia glared at him. "You can't take me wherever you want! I make my own decisions. And right now, I'm traveling with my friend Pa'la to go to Naboo!"

"Ah, so you have a friend. How cute. Well, tell her she can come as well. If you want, I will take you to Naboo and you can have the weekends to yourself and your little friend."

"Pa'la? Is that okay?" Patrocklia asked the blue Twi'lek.

"Ummmmm... sure"

Darth Nox's voice boomed as he spoke, "Very well, if you don't have any things, then follow me."

Patrocklia and Pa'la followed Golgatha. They passed some Imperial Troopers, and they bowed as he walked past. The two young children went with him to his personal ship, a Fury-class starfighter. As they boarded the ship, they both shrieked as a huge hulking monster greeted them.

"Gadi gai. Awempos beea cressipateye. Eepeeziwanita. Wapata weekneiz. Babonseis vadibons." (Who are these little ones? Are they food for me to devour? I am hungry. If not, shall we eat some Jedi? Or Sith? I'm in the mood for Zabrak.)

"No Khem, they are not food. They shall be acolytes in the Sith Academy. However, they won't be just yet. I will train them personally first. On Naboo. But, if you'd like, we can stop by Alderaan to feast on some Jedi. Ashara, set the course for Alderaan. Once Khem and Andronikos have their fun, then fly the ship to Naboo. Xalek, I want you to practice your combat skills. Talos, make sure Xalek has some severe injuries and don't heal them." Darth Nox gave orders and then turned to Patrocklia and Pa'la. "Yes, I have great plans for you. Come along and see your new home."

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! By the way, almost all of my characters that aren't real NPCs in the game are real people. Golgatha is the leader of the guild Patrocklia is in and is a level 55 Sorcerer. Sandraas is a Jedi Guardian that I made, and Patrocklos is a Scoundrel. Both aren't past the Prologue, but I felt that I had to make them. Pa'la I will be making soon and she will be joining the same guild. Patrocklia is currently level 25 and just started the Nikto Sector of Nar Shaddaa. Also, what Patrocklia was chanting will be explained later in the story. Please, READ AND REVIEW! Thanks!**

**-Obimax**


	7. Chapter 6: Lightsabers

**Chapter 6: Lightsabers**

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**5 YEARS LATER**

The malevolent orange glow of the lightsaber shone through the dark cave. Dozens of attack droids swarmed through tiny holes. The orange lightsaber danced through the cave, cutting apart droids one by one. The holder of the lightsaber was completely in tune with the Dark Side of the Force. She felt her anger at the droids, then concentrated on that anger, and magnified it to make herself stronger. She HAD to win. It was the way of the Sith to prevail even when the odds were stacked against her. The wielder of the lightsaber sliced through the last droid. The pantone saber cleaved through it cleanly. It shut off, only to be activated a split second later as the holder of the laser sword sensed something large coming from behind her. The lightsaber-wielder turned around to see the largest droid she had ever seen. It was at least 20 feet tall, barely fitting in the large cave. One of the gargantuan arms came smashing down. She dodged out of the way. Nothing could stop her dance. Not even this robot giant. As she twirled her blade, she threw it at one of the legs, and let it sail back through the air back into her hand. She continued this process until all 4 legs were down. The droid was now helpless. She ran towards it, dodging the swinging arms until she made it to the head, her lightsaber was a blur of motion as it whirled around the droid's arms and came back to her, going though the head as it sailed back. The robot's swinging arms collapsed, and the orange lightsaber finally shut off for good.

The 14-year old wielding the lightsaber looked up at her master, who was silently watching the whole time. "Very good, Patrocklia. That was excellent. Pa'la, you may now begin your exercise." Pa'la walked to the center of the cave as Patrocklia walked back towards Golgatha. As they passed, they both smirked at each other. It had been 5 years since they became friends, and their friendship had only grown. One knew what the other was thinking, and they became indestructible machines when together. Apart, they were just deadly.

Pa'la smiled when she got to the center. Instead of hundreds of small droids, she had a simpler challenge. Five of the droids that Patrocklia faced. She activated her lightsaber and the blood-red glow cast an evil-looking glow over the cave. The droids all fixated their large metallic photo-receptors on her, and started flinging their large arms at her. She weaved around them, and got behind one of the droids. The droids were not intelligent, and they were programmed only to kill Pa'la. As they shot Pa'la, they hit the droid that was in front of her. "One down, four to go." Pa'la thought. She dove through the barrage of bolts that were coming at her from the blasters. She batted them away with her crimson blade, and rushed even faster, drawing on the force to augment her speed. As she rushed toward them, it became harder for her to dodge the incoming fire. She knew that she had to do something... So she decided to try something new.

She concentrated on the Dark Side of the Force, and let its power swirl around her. She then used her command of the Force to make the air around her contort, making her almost invisible. It wasn't perfect, and there were still bits and pieces of her that were visible. However, the droids were targeting ALL of her, and so they became confused as she slowly walked up to each one, striking them down until one remained. She wanted this one to be good...

She took out her lightsaber, but left it off. She went right behind the last humongous droid, and put the hilt of her lightsaber right up to the back of its "head". She activated it, and the sinister red glow penetrated through the steel and was showing on the other side. Once the droid fell down, she stopped using the Force, making herself visible again, and deactivated her lightsaber.

"So? How was that?" Pa'la asked, smirking.

"Uh... ummm... that was... very impressive! It's like nothing I've ever seen before! That was amazing Pa'la. Very good. I'd say you both passed your trials. Patrocklia, Pa'la, follow me." Golgatha stuttered, then ordered the last part.

Patrocklia and Pa'la fell into line, standing next to each other and exactly 8 feet behind Darth Nox. "Wow! How did you do that? The whole invisible thing was awesome!" Patrocklia asked, obviously stunned as much as Golgatha.

"Well, I just followed my instinct. Not much to it. Anyways, I like your lightsaber color. That was an excellent choice, no matter what the dangers were. It was definitely worth it. I wish mine were a different color, but I guess the standard red will have to do. Ya, that nexu sure was a hassle..."

**2 WEEKS EARLIER**

Patrocklia and Pa'la had just finished their challenges of the day. Darth Nox had assigned them each a challenge per day, besides the weekends of course. Even though Darth Nox was ruthless, he was still a man of honor. He held true to his word. "Ugh, these training swords are soooooooo heavy! I wish he would let us have something lighter, like a vibroknife or something." Pa'la complained.

"Oh, stop it. I'm sure we'll get our lightsabers soon. We just have to be patient. Besides, I want to get a little bit stronger. I only just turned 14." Patrocklia said. The two girls walked up to where Golgatha was meditating. He sensed them and turned around.

"Good. Very good. So, how are your training sabers doing? Do you like the new model?"

Patrocklia knew this was a test. Even though she did, she doubted Pa'la would know. It turned out she was right.

"NO! These training sabers are heavy! They're so bulky! I don't want to lug these stupid things all around! I want my lightsaber NOW!"

Patrocklia facepalmed. She was definitely right. She looked back up to Golgatha, who simply nodded in agreement. "Very well, apprentice. You may have your lightsaber. But you must use your training saber for one last thing. This." He walked away from where he was sitting, revealing a cage with a full-grown nexu, at least 5 feet tall and 8 feet long. The nexu bared its teeth and roared. Darth Nox flicked his hand, and the cage unlatched, releasing the nexu. It immediately launched at Patrocklia. "So, once you defeat Mr. Fluffy, you may get your lightsaber crystals. Oh, by the way," he added as the large cat was mauling Patrocklia's face, "you have 3 minutes."

Patrocklia was distracted by the news and left a large opening for the nexu to get at her. Luckily for her, Pa'la ran forwards with her training sword straight ahead, stabbing the nexu through the heart. As it stopped, they sighed in relief.

"Oh man," Pa'la said, "that was almost too eas-" she was cut off as the nexu jumped up and slashed at her legs, apparently not caring there was a gaping hole in its chest. The nexu unleashed a horrendous shrill that echoed across the skies. Pa'la quickly dodged out of the way, but it left a nasty scar on her face from the slash. Patrocklia dived in, and started hacking at the nexu. As the blade connected, the nexu let out yet another roar, and it smiled, a terrible smile, with all of its teeth sharp and gooey from the blood of a kill, obviously not too long ago.

"Pa'la! To your right!" Pa'la barely made it out of the way as the nexu barreled towards her. Pa'la swung her saber down and it smacked the nexu's back, breaking its spine. But the nexu wasn't done yet. It could still use its claws and mouth. It swiped yet again at Pa'la, leaving a larger scratch on her face. It then turned around, and started crawling towards Patrocklia as Pa'la was writhing in pain.

"Patrocklia! Watch out!" Patrocklia zoomed away from the nexu and jumped onto a tree. There the nexu couldn't get her... Then she saw Golgatha in the background, waving his hands to do some Sith Sorcery. What he was doing, she did not know. Suddenly, the nexu started shooting fire from its mouth. It engulfed Patrocklia, and she fell down from the tree, breaking both her legs and an arm. The nexu slowly approached her, ready to dart down for the kill. It was about to clamp Patrocklia's neck in its jaws, when suddenly a training blade came out of nowhere and went through the nexu's heart. The nexu stuttered forward, then fell down on top of Patrocklia, dead. The blood from the nexu soaked Patrocklia's shirt.

Pa'la ran over from where her friend was being crushed by the nexu's dead body. She used the Force to lift the nexu up and throw it into a nearby ditch. She then looked over Patrocklia, making sure no wounds were serious. The only thing that looked permanent was a large burn all over her face. It was going to scar her forever. "Patrocklia! Get up! Let's go get our lightsabers! We passed! We killed the nexu!"

"Ugh, alright. One second. Let me clean up first..."

Golgatha walked over to Patrocklia, stopping her from getting up. "NO! You may NOT wash your shirt. You will be stained in the blood of your enemy when you receive your lightsaber. Now, get up and follow me" Patrocklia and Pa'la walked with Golgatha to a cave. "Go inside this cave. There will be a room for you. You must face whatever trial is in this room. Remember, it is not me making the trials. It is the Force, the living energy around everything. It will go inside your head, and make you relive your worst nightmares. You can have a flashlight and a bottle of water. Now, run along."

Patrocklia and Pa'la both walked inside, cautiously. They made it maybe 50 meters in when it branched off. There were two directions, one with a ghostly apparition of a Ce'na doll and the other had an apparition of a lightsaber, the same one that Sandraas had, and then Patrocklia, before Patrocklia lost it on Naboo somewhere on a weekend. "Well, I guess that one's yours, since it has your lightsaber on it. I'll take the one with the doll." Pa'la said to Patrocklia.

"Okay then. Let's go."

**PA'LA'S ROOM**

She walked through the long and dark tunnel with nothing but a bottle of water and a flashlight. Soon she saw a room and figured it must be hers. "Alrighty then. Let's go in..." As she walked into the room, the cave fell down behind her, trapping her. "Okay... kinda creepy, but I guess that's natural for all this Sith stuff." She turned on her flashlight and let its glow encompass the room. It was maybe thirty by fifty meters. There was a small pedestal adjacent to a glowing crimson crystal, which shone so bright it looked like it would set alight anything that got near it. Pa'la took a sip of her water, and then threw it at the crystal. "Well, I guess I was right", she thought to herself as the water bottle instantly burst into flames as it got within a meter radius of the crystal. "At least this red shiny thing makes this room a bit more happy, compared to the barren cave that I've just gone through. It was kind of making me more sullen than usual..."

Pa'la shone her flashlight at the floor, then jumped back in surprise. She didn't look at the floor before, and now she was thinking that that might have been a good idea. Well, she couldn't look at the floor, because there was no floor. Nothing. It was a just a deep pit. She didn't know where it ended, and she wasn't going to throw her flashlight down to see how deep it was. There were no loose pebbles she could use either, all there was was some stone and a slight trickle of water.

She turned around, seeing if maybe she could get out the way she came. She couldn't. "Well, this kind of sucks..." She then turned back around to look at the floor and the crystal, because there wasn't any more light. When she turned, she realized that the red crystal was in fact still producing light. There was just something blocking the light. She looked up, and up, and up, and up until she saw the face of a huge vicious rancor, staring right at her. Then she looked down and saw that the rancor was standing on thin air. "Hi there big guy! Mind telling me how you're flying? 'Cause that would be really helpful right now..." The rancor slashed at her, and she only had a meter or two to step aside on. It kept swing its arms at her, and she had no idea how long she could keep this up...

**PATROCKLIA'S ROOM**

Patrocklia also was heading down a tunnel, but hers took much longer to get down than Pa'la's. She started hurtling down the cave, using the Force to augment her speed. The cave seemed interminable, like it was never going to end. The whole trial was much more humdrum than she thought it would be. After all, she was proving herself to be Sith and finally get her lightsaber. At this point, the whole thing seemed trivial. Nothing of importance happened until she finally came to a stop at a small alcove in the wall. The whole tunnel was perfect, so this alcove had to be something important. She used the Force to sense her surroundings, and... "Yes! This is it! I just need to move this rock..." Using the Force she moved a rock and she crawled through the opening the rock was covering.

As she went inside the room, there was just something... off about it. It was different. She shone her flashlight around the room. There was a pantone orange crystal giving off quite a bit of light as well as a singular pre-made lightsaber hilt resting by it. Patrocklia walked over to the hilt, and inspected it closely. It was the same one that her mother had. She turned it on, then shrieked as the blue light turned on, revealing that it was the same exact lightsaber her mother had had before Patrocklia killed her. Patrocklia still felt guilty about that day, even though Sandraas had killed Patrocklia's father first. She looked up, expecting to see her mother's ghost yet again. Luckily for her, it didn't appear. She approached the crystal and grabbed it. She then broke her mother's lightsaber. She didn't want any more reminders of the life before she was Sith. Patrocklia walked away with the crystal, feeling fairly triumphant. She exited the room. As she was walking back towards the entrance of the cave, she sensed something behind her. She turned around to see an old, small, groveling creature, withered by time, obviously kept alive only by anger from something. Since it was old, probably anger at the person who left it behind and never came back. Then she saw the creature's face, and instantly recognized it.

Pa'la.

**A/N: Okay so sorry about the long upload time. Hope this chapter was long enough, and this time it had a bit of action. By the way, if you've ever watched Doctor Who you know what episode this last part is about. (The Doctor's Wife) Anyways, please read and review! It really helps me get more motivated to write more about Patrocklia and Pa'la! Soon they'll get separated for a bit, and then onto the SW storyline! By the way, it's probably going to be a bit different, but still not AU. Since they already have their lightsabers, they don't need to do that quest, and I'm going the change the overseer... But after Korriban it'll be closer to the main storyline of Sith Warrior.**

**Read and Review!**

**-Obimax**


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